Question Does resolution impact performance?

[Jeff Kaos]

I saw on a post somewhere that playing a game at 1080p draws more processing power from the CPU while gaming in 4k pushes the load to the GPU. I've never heard this before and I was wondering if that's true. Right now, my system is aging but can still play the games I enjoy with decent graphic settings and I'm considering updating my monitor from a cheap 1080p 60Hz to something significantly better and I was wondering if going to 4K will really push more of my processing load to the GPU. For reference my GPU is a GTX 1070 Gaming X and my CPU is an intel 6600k. I've been wanting to upgrade both of these but as I said they still do what I need them to do right now and money has been a little tight.

 

[rgd1101]

no. just the playing on lower resolution is more cpu bound.
that why when they test cpu https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-7-7800x3d-cpu-review
they run game in low resolution

 

[TerryLaze]

I saw on a post somewhere that playing a game at 1080p draws more processing power from the CPU while gaming in 4k pushes the load to the GPU.

Well, the more FPS a CPU produces the more power it needs to do it, so if you lose a lot of FPS by going to 4K then the CPU will also use a lot less processing power.
Every CPU tops out at whatever FPS it does top out at and changing resolution does not change that, it does change the amount of FPS the GPU can keep up with though.

 

[geofelt]

I suggest you upgrade your monitor first.
You will then know better what, if any, cpu upgrade will be appropriate.

6600K can be overclocked to 4.60 if you have a Z motherboard.
https://siliconlottery.com/pages/statistics

One can always reduce the resolution if necessary to get the fps you want.
The image of a 4k monitor is stunning compared to 1080P.
I highly recommend it.
Take the time to find the one you really want.
Bust your budget if need be.
It will be with you for a very long time.

Bigger will be more immersive.
Plan on keeping your old monitor as a side monitor for static stuff like email or performance monitors.